Deseret Morning News, Thursday, November 16, 2006
Petition seeks to delay Dixie land bill
By Suzanne Struglinski
and Nancy Perkins
Deseret Morning News
WASHINGTON — More than 1,700 people in
Washington County have signed a petition in the past two weeks asking Sen. Bob
Bennett to postpone pushing a major public lands bill through Congress.
Bennett, R-Utah, and Rep. Jim Matheson, D-Utah,
introduced the Washington County Growth and Conservation Act of 2006 in
Congress this past July. The bill is the subject of a congressional hearing
today as lawmakers try to wrap up final pieces of legislation before adjourning
for the year.
Supporters want to see the bill make it through, to
avoid having to start from scratch at the beginning of the next Congress. But
the bill's opponents see no problem in stopping what they see as a flawed piece
of legislation.
Lin Alder, executive director of Citizens For Dixie's Future, and Brooks Pace, president of Dammeron Corp., were in Washington on Wednesday to meet with
Bennett's staff members and remind him that not everyone in the county supports
the bill. Both men are real-estate developers in Washington County.
"They just don't get it," Alder said of Bennett
and the bill's other supporters.
Alder and Pace argue that the public-land sales
proposed in the bill would bring more people to St. George and destroy the
landscape and lifestyle that make residents call it home and tourists call it a
prime vacation destination.
"What we need is land in its current
state," Pace said. "That's what attracts the 2 million visitors a
year."
The two men complain that the bill has had
insufficient public input. Alder would rather see the public come up with the
ideas for the legislation rather than be told what it is and not have any
opportunities to try and change it.
Bennett spokeswoman Emily Christensen said the
senator is looking forward to the congressional hearing.
"We are coming to the end of a three-year
effort to address Washington
County's growth
challenges, " she said. "Senator Bennett has
welcomed public comments throughout this process and has incorporated many
suggestions into his legislation."
Alder said some women in Washington County
formed a group two weeks ago to gather signatures to postpone consideration of
the bill until the public can learn more about it. The petition is on the
group's Web site, citizensfordixie.org.
"When you have grandmothers gathering
signatures in a grocery store, you know there is something wrong," Alder
said. "People care about Washington
County, and this is
clearly not what they want for the future."
Pace said it would be fine for Washington County to
grow to a level it could sustain naturally — about 350,000, or more than
double its current population — but pushing beyond that level would bring
in sprawl and congestion.
"These sort of places need to be
protected," Pace said. "This is the absolute opposite of what we
should be doing in the county."
But Washington County Commissioner Alan Gardner,
who will testify at the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Subcommittee
hearing today, has a different view.
"They've tried to portray the bill that way,
but the bill only preserves corridors that we will need in the future," Gardner said. "It
doesn't advocate all this development, that's not the purpose of the bill at
all."
"We're excited to get the bill to this
point," he added. "It's going to be a great thing for Washington County if we can get it passed."
Pace will submit testimony for the congressional
record but will not speak before the Public
Lands and Forests
Subcommittee today.
Peter Metcalf, chief executive officer of Black
Diamond Equipment, Ltd., and a member of the board of directors for the Outdoor
Industry Association, will speak against the bill.
Bennett and Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, are also
scheduled to testify.
E-mail: suzanne@desnews.com;
nperkins@desnews.com
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